Undertaker&#39;s apparatus



April 1- J. 'r. DE LANEY 2,238,931

UNDERTAKERS APPARATUS Filed Feb. 21, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 22, 1941.

J. T. DE LANEY 2,238,931 UNDERTAKERS APPARATUS Filed Feb. 21, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mrs/Mar: E62 6 John T DeLa/Ve 5y Mite/wad r9 )"0 Fer Al er/yer:

Patented Apr. 22, 1941 UNITED STATES FA'I'ENT EFFIQE UNDERTAKERS APPARATUS J chn T. De Laney, Denver, Colo. Applicaticn February 21, 1939, Serial No. 257,600

9 Claims.

This invention relates to undertaking apparatus, and particularly to apparatus for positioning and retaining the head and features of a corpse being embalmed.

Objects of the invention are to provide a device of this class which shall be simple and economical in construction; which shall have a wide range of applicability and adjustability combined with strength and rigidity, and also combined with ccllapsibility into a small space; which shall also have interchangeability of parts and appliances, and which shall combine in the one appliance, apparatus for a large variety of uses and which shall be of high efficiency as to each and all of said uses, and which may perform its various functions all coincidently or separate 1y. Other objects are the improvement of certain specific implements and appliances for use in such a structure.

With these and other objects in view, all of which will be hereinafter more fully described, the invention comprises certain novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will now be described and hereinafter claimed, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the device, as applied to a head indicated in broken lines,

Fig, 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a plan of a device for mounting and locking various appliances on the base bar.

Fig. 4 is a View of the mounting and locking device taken on line 4-& of Fig. 3, showing section of the base bar.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the appliance for positioning the cheeks or sides of the face.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the chest rest.

Fig. '7 is a detail View of the chin support.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the calipers.

Fig. 9 is an edge view of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a detail, partly in section, of one of the interchangeable-point structures.

Fig. 11 is a detail view, partly in section, of one of the rocking pads, and

Fig, 12 is an illustration of a lip holding appliance.

The invention is designed to provide means for holding the chin and head in the desired position relative to each other and to the body, and to provide means for this purpose which shall also and coincidently provide a base or anchorage for appliances to be used for operating on or holding in desired position various portions of the face, and also means for gaging the work done and to be done by the various appliances.

To this end I provide a base bar I, preferably having a plurality of faces for convenience and exactness in positioning appliances thereon, the bar here being illustrated as square in cross-section.

For mounting various appliances on this bar I provide a device which I will term a look, a convenient form, illustrated in detail at Figs. 3 and 4, comprising a body 2 having a groove 3 adapted for sliding fit on bar l, but being a trifle less in depth than the thickness of bar I, so that when the bar is seated in the groove the bar will project sufficiently above the top of the groove and the surrounding surface of body 2 so that the body may be tightly clamped to the bar l by the clip 3, pivoted to the body, as at 4, and provided with a recess 5 for engaging the shank 5 of the thumbscrew 1, preferably provided with a flange 8 whereby the clip may be swung over bar 1 positioned in groove 3, into engagement with the shank E and held by the thumbscrew 1, thereby clamping the body 2 tightly upon bar I. The body may be removed from the bar by loosening the thumbscrew l and swinging the clip to position indicated in broken line at Fig. 3, whereupon the body may be moved out of engagement with the bar I. It will be understood that the clip 3 may be placed on the top of the body, as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and '7, or on the bottom of the body, as illustrated in Fig. 6. When placed on the bottom, as illustrated in Fig. 6, the thumbscrew l is provided with a head 8 on its lower end, and the threads are reversed so that the retraction of the thumbscrew I will cause head 8 to clamp the clip to the body. By such construction the locks may be attached to the bar I from either top or bottom, but the wings of the thumbscrew 7 may be always positioned on the top or outside. The form of the lock may be varied so long as it (a) is adjustable longitudinally of the bar, (b) can be locked in fixed relation to the bar, and, (0) can be readily positioned on or removed from the bar.

The bar i is preferably curved at one end, as at la, while the other end is preferably straight, as at lb, and on the end lb, by means of a lock indicated at 2, I attach a bar 9 adapted to parallel and lie against the bar I for some distance from the lock 2, and thence to curve over the top of the head when bar I is positioned in front and centrally of the face as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Bar 9 is preferably of the same cross-section as bar i, and on the other end of bar 9 I attach a lock, again generally indicated at 2, this look carrying a cross-bar it, in the ends of which there are threaded sharp-pointed screws I I having knurled heads I2 whereby the points of the screws may be indented into the skull to form an anchorage. In cases not requiring a particularly secure anchorage, a suitable pad may be inserted beneath the points of the screws to prevent puncture of the scalp.

Upon the curved end Ia of bar I, I provide a lock, generally indicated at 2 but of the type illustrated at Fig. 6, the body of which lock has threaded orifices in each end, adapted to receive threaded bars I3 which may be locked into body 2 by any suitable means, as wing nuts I4.

The outer ends of the bars I3 are enlarged, as at I 5, and bored to receive rods I 6, slidable in the bores and lockable therein as by wing nuts I7. Pads I8 rockingly engage the lower ends of rod I5, which rocking engagement is conveniently accomplished by a structure similar to that illustrated in Fig. 11, hereinafter described in detail.

The pads 58 are adapted to rest upon the chest, whereby the base bar I may be solidly supported at any desired distance from the chest and from the face, and, by reason of the independent adjustability of rods It as to length, bar I may be thus supported when the head is turned to either side, as well as when facing straight front, and the head will be supported and held in such angular position because it is clamped to bar I, as later described. The head may thus be held at a desired angle to the body by this apparatus in conjunction with the body of the subject and without other anchorage.

On bar I, by means of a lock indicated at 2, I

mount a chin rest or clamp, illustrated in detail at Fig. 7, and comprising a member I91 carried by body 2 of the lock, and which may be conveniently bent, as at 20, and provided with threaded holes H for the reception of threaded pin. 22 having knurled head 23 and having a rocking engagement with a suitable chin pad I9a, the rocking engagement being conveniently accomplished by the structure illustrated at Fig. 11 and later described.

Also on bar I, by means of a lock indicated generally at 2, I mount the cheek-pad appliance illustrated at Fig. 5, comprising arms 24 carried by the body 2 of the lock, which look is preferably of the same construction as that shown in Fig. 6, and having the clip 3 at the bottom as hereinabove described. The arms 24 are preferably curved, as illustrated at Fig. 5, and provided with one or more faces for convenience and accuracy in positioning the cheek pads thereon.

On the arms 24 I provide sleeves 25, slidable upon the arm but lockable thereto by suitable means, as thumbscrews 26, the sleeves 25 carrying arms 21 having threaded holes for the reception of threaded rods 23 having knurled heads 29 and having their inner ends in. rocking engagement with suitable pads 3il'for engagement with the cheeks, such rocking engagement and the pads being illustrated in detail at Fig. 11, where the end of the threaded bar 28 is illustrated as rounded at 3| and seated in a circular socket 32 in the thick, central portion Illa of the pad I8, which central portion is preferably rigid and which may be thinned out into a rim I31) which may be of pliable material such as aluminum, lead alloy, etc., or the pads may be cheap material, such as Bakelite, and a large variety of shapes or formations provided. The pads may be covered by thin rubber or suitable material, as indicated at I80, if the pad itself be made of material undesirable to contact with the face.

It will be obvious scribed structure the cheeks at any desired degree of pressure.

Wherever rockingly engaging pads have been referred to, points for engagement With bony structure may b used in place of the pads, such structure being illustrated at Fig. 10 and being similar to the structure illustrated at Fig. 11 and above described, except that the structure is provided with a point 33 instead of the pad I8, which point is threaded onto rod 28 as at 33a. These points and pads are interchangeable for various uses. For example, in case of a swelling on one side of a face otherwise normal a cheek pad will be applied to the it but a point will be used on the opposing arm 24 to engage the cheek bone and furnish anchorage for the pad on the opposite arm without any distorting pressure on the normal cheek.

Calipers illustrated at Figs. 8 and 9 may be positioned at any point on bar I, being provided for this purpose with a yoke 34, preferably curved as illustrated at Fig. 9, so that the calipers may be tipped longitudinally of bar I to any desired angle while still maintaining their engagement with the bar. base 35 in which the arms 36 are pivoted as at 31, a handle 38 being provided for convenience.

Any other desired appliances may be mounted on bar I which provides a positive anchorage or appliances, it being understood that by means of the engagement of the points II with the skull, the positioning of the lower end of bar I definitely relative to the chest by means of pads I8 and independently adjustable bars I6 and the engagement of the chin clamp or rest with the the head may be positioned and fixed as desired, and correspondingly the bar I is fixed as fixed centrally and longitudinally of the face, for any such appliances, including those hercinabove mentioned. It will be noted that the structure not only holds the chin in position relative to the head, but also holds the head in position relative to the body, and the same structure which accomplishes these purposes furnishes the fixed anchorage for the appliances adapted for operation upon other features.

It will be understood that the calipers, illustrated at Figs. 8 and 9, have the arms 36 so coordinated that the movement of one arm moves the other arm correspondingly. The use of calipers mounted on a base bar as described will be understood by those skilled in the art. They are especially useful where one side of a face has been torn away by accident and must be artithat with the above depads may be applied to the points and with any desired 35 which is over the normal side of the face is moved into contact with the face on that side. The other side is then built up to contact the point of the other arm 36. The calipers thus show the operator exactly the extent to which the build up must be made in order tomatch the normal side.

One of the other appliances, Which may be anchored to and operated from bar I as a base, is illustrated at Fig. 12, where an extendable stub 39 depends from a lock 2 The calipers are provided with a jection from and lockable in member 40 as by thumbscrews 42, which points or hooks may be engaged with the lips of the subject to hold the lips in desired position.

The structure, thus described, obviously has a wide range of adjustability and adaptability, combined with the necessary strength and rigidity, and it is obvious that the entire structure, with the appliances, may be readily disassembled and collapsed into a very small space, and that the structure is simple and economical, both as to original construction and operation, and that all operative parts may be so constructed that the device as a whole will be of great durability.

While I have illustrated and herein described many details of construction, equivalent alternative details in construction will occur to those skilled in the art, and I do not wish to be confined to the details illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a base bar, plural pointed means carried by the bar adapted to engage the top of the skull of a subject, means adjustable along and lockable to the bar and adapted to engage the chin, whereby to clamp the subjects head and chin and said bar together in fixed interrelative positions, said bar extending beyond the chin and carrying adjustable means adapted to seat upon the subjects chest whereby to adjust the position of the head of the subject relative to its body.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a head clamp comprising a base bar carrying adjustable means adapted to engage and clamp, in desired interrelative positions, the subjects head and chin and said bar, and an extension of said bar beyond the chin and carrying independently adjustable means adapted to support said extension of said bar upon the chest and thereby fix the position of the head relative to the body.

3. In apparatus of the class described, a head clamp comprising a base bar carrying means adapted to engage and hold, in desired interrelative positions, the head and chin of a subject and to thereby anchor said bar to the head of the subject in central longitudinal position relative to the face, said bar being adapted to receive appliances, adjustable along and lockable to said bar, adapted for operation, from said bar as a base, upon the features of the subject, and a plurality of appliances each carried by a member adapted to be longitudinally adjustably engaged with and to be locked to said bar.

4. In apparatus of the class described, a base bar clamped in position centrally and longitudinally of the face of a subject by means adjustable along and lockable to the bar and adapted to clamp the bar to the chin and the top of the head, said bar extending beyond the chin and over the chest of the subject, when in reclining position, and a plurality of members adapted to contact the chest and connected with the bar, said members being independently adjustable as to their length between the bar and the chest.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a base bar adapted to be clamped to the head of a subject in fixed position centrally longitudinally of the face, appliances adjustable longitudinally of but lockable to said bar, each of said appliances having a pair of oppositely disposed arms carrying means adapted to contact the face of the subject.

6. In apparatus as defined in claim 5, said appliances being adapted for engagement with and for disengagement from said bar while said bar is thus clamped to the head.

7. In apparatus as defined in claim 5, said bar having opposite sides lying in parallel planes and calipers having a yoke adapted to slidingly engage said opposite sides of said bar and to be tipped longitudinally of said bar, and thereby adapted to be employed to gauge the pairs of features coincident with the adjustment of the apliances thereto.

8. In apparatus of the class described face contacting appliances comprising pins threaded in the appliances for adjustment of said pins as to length and having rounded ends and pads rockingly seated on the ends of said pins by means of rounded sockets for the rounded ends of said pins.

9. In apparatus of the class described face contacting appliances comprising pins threaded inv the appliances for adjustment of said pins as to length and having rounded ends, pads having rounded sockets adapted to rockingly seat on the ends of said pins and pointed members having threaded sockets adapted to be screwed onto the ends or said pins, whereby to provide interchangeability of said pads and said pointed members without change of pins.

JOHN '1. DE 

